Monday, March 15, 2010

Burros? Icky? Apes? Candy? Xenophobia?

How does The Planet Of The Apes movie make us contemplate and wrestle with the concept of xenophobia? Does it pertain to the Science Fiction we have read? Please add to this blog during and after each viewing of the movie.

77 comments:

  1. This movie makes us realize how little we really know about the universe. It shows us that for all we know there could be a planet of the apes out there somewhere in space, we have no clue, especially if it takes thousands of years to travel there.

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  2. I think Planet of the Apes makes us think about the future. Most of us fear what is beyond our control and not being able to predict or know about the future. this movie makes you think about what our world will be like a hundred if not thousands of years from now. The fact that we don't know makes us uneasy and we try to see of we can make some things possible in the future. I think a lot of the xenophobic ideas in Planet of the Apes comes from what we can't predict and what we can't control.

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  3. xenophobia: a fear of the uknown. but more then just a fear it can also spark interest or investigation. planet of the apes leaves these scientist to go a planet full of unknown. known but also full of interest. the other stories have come across this idea. like random sample and king of the beast. xenophobia is more then just a fear of the unknown or something that is not understood, but also a the human interest to understand these things. humans either destroy what we don't know out of fear, or we dissect it and try to understand it.

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  4. It really makes us wonder how big it really is, or even what is really out there. If there really is a planet just like ours that really has life on it. To us we feel really small and out of place like there is still a lot for us too learn about who we really are as humans. This shows xenophobia but how they will probably fear the Apes when they find them and learn that there is actually life on this planet.

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  5. i think that it is an interesting way to show role reversal using a cynical man thrown into slavery by super intelligent apes. i like the way they had Heston talk to people he will never know and how he asked the question "Is there any more war with brother killing brother?"

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  6. I think that although we haven't gotten to far into this movie, I can guess that they are going to be scared when they run into the apes. Exposing their xenophobia of things that are different. I think seeing something different though should be accepted by people who go on these voyages.

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  7. Time is a concept that we don't really think twice about. We just accept it how it is and what we are told. But in the movie Planet of the Apes, time is completely different. Everything the humans knew about time is gone, it's not the same anymore. And that could be a huge source of xenophobia for us. It would throw us off because we wouldn't know what to do with our universe. And that is another thing: there is much more beyond our own universe. I think we are terrified of anything in outer space, let alone out of our universe.

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  8. doonster= joe smith

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  9. I think that xenophobia really tries to make us look at the values that we hold and the way we look at the world around us. In Puppet Masters and Muse, human supremacist feelings are revealed in the way we look at humans, almost always with a feeling of superiority conveyed by the mere fact that we are human. Planet of the Apes begins with the astronaut wondering if humanity still fights wars with itself after it has accomplished so much. The planting of the American flag on a foreign world really accentuates how humans can act as though they are entitled to anything they come across. If there are any life forms on this planet, then they must be considered before humanity uses their planet. As soon as they find life, they immediately up root it, probably for "scientific" purposes.

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  10. For one, there's the thought of having to go faster than time. Right now, that may seem impossible but the possibility that there would be a chance to travel time can frighten us (especially because we are imprisoned by time). Also, it is a question of how a planet should be and what could be different on other planets with life since we are so used to the commodities of Earth. Is humankind ready to find other lifeforms? This could be interesting, especially since we find ourselves the most dominant species of our world.

    These days, people try to avoid getting older and avoiding death. This movie shows the reality of the opportunity to live for centuries longer and how it may not be worth the venture.

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  11. Xenophobia is something that is foreign to us, and this movie shows that we could travel a thousand of years and our world will still be foreign to us, it could controlled by apes for instance. We don't really know what to predict or whats going to happen to world.

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  12. The xenophobia shown in the movie is different but also contains some aspects that we have read before. Some stories that we have read are very far fetched. The movie seems to to have a realistic feel to it by using a planet very similar to ours. But there is also the far fetched idea of time travel. The three men when they arrive on the planet discuss that they have been away from earth for more than 2,000 years.

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  13. Planet of the Apes pertains to the stories we've read because they all relate to xenophobia. In Planet of the Apes one of the Americans is afraid of the planet they have just landed on because it is unknown to him. In Puppet Show, the people were afraid of the alien creatures that came to visit them from foreign planets. In Muse, the main characters dad was afraid of Icky because he did not know what Icky really was about. In all the stories someone is making a general assumption about an entire race from just a few people.

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  14. Planet of the Apes shows us how humans are shown as the strange objects of fear, and how things that we are used to, are, in many ways, very strange. The movie also suggests that xenophobia is a developed trait by having it be adopted by the apes.

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  15. The movie planet of the apes makes us wrestle with the concept of xenophobia by bringing us to the conclusion, that we may think we are knowledgeable about the world and universes, but really in depth we know only a small portion of what there is to know .It brings us to the thoughts that there really could be other life forms out there we just don't know it yet .

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  16. One can tell that the men were instantly afraid when they saw their crewmate had turned into an old, money-like creature on their way to the ocean. That was because they were only used to looking at things that they had seen before. I think this can show us that xenophobia is normal for humans--we see something/someone that's different from ourselves and we get scared because we like to think we know everything. We like to be in control, just like in the story of the little girl who got everything she wanted by being a bully.

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  17. Planet of the Apes makes us contemplate with the concept of xenophobia because these men have landed on a new planet where apes are the rulers. This is confusing to them because they rule over the apes in their planet, but in this one, the apes rule over them. This deals with xenophobia because they are not used to the bapes being this intelligent and it is a little scary for the apes to be taking them over.

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  18. this movie is just like the other story people are affrayed of the new. But thats all they have left

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  19. The humans in Planet of the Apes all have different feelings about how to approach different forms of life that they do not know or understand . Some of them are bolder and more willing to take on the mysteries, but others are cautionary and afraid. They represent some of the other characters that we have seen in these stories who have different levels of xenophobia.

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  20. Planet of the Apes and every other reading we have dealt with thus far emulate the idea of the role of humans being reversed. The fact that the humans landed on an unknown planet also contributes the movies' use of xenophobia. Even the climate on the planet's sporatic nature and traveling into the future are strange things that exhibit xenophobia. These three men are enduring an obscene amount of obstacles and setbacks that would seem "strange" on Earth.

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  21. ~They seemed to consider that this new planet could be on a different timetable than Earth. While Earth is by now highly advanced, this planet could just be in what we call prehistoric times.
    ~Didn't the salt and pepper guy know what he was signing up for? He wasn't prepared for how it turned out. The Skipper hoped to find someone better than man, so I suspect he will also not be prepared for when it comes true.
    ~I had almost forgotten how much I love George Lucas. Truly spectacular film-making.
    ~Beards make the men resemble apes.

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  22. Xenophobia: the only thing keeping humans dominant on earth is knowledge. any creature say an ape can be dominant like humans if it has knowledge. an ape or a hussir, they both win over uneducated humans. and "any" human or creature can be educated.

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  23. This movie once again displays the switch in hierarchy between humans and other creatures. We often believe that we are much higher intellectually but we very well may be seen the same way that we often look at animals.

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  24. planet of the apes shows xenophobia from the other side of the spectrum this time humans are the ones who are feared and caged not the other way around like what we have read, but the apes essentualy are humans.

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  25. The apes think that the humans are dumb and don't know how to talk, but the space traveler does, he just can't because of his wound. The human is just as smart as the apes. The beard that he has also resembles that he is just like them and is one of them is a sense that he can talk and act the way the apes do. The apes are unfamiliar with the humans.

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  26. The movie is showing us that we are very judgmental. By switching the roles of humans and apes we can see how we might be overlooking some things. We always think that we are the greatest and in these movies, they are showing how instead of humans being domesticated, its the apes that are domesticated.

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  27. The role-reversal of humans is prevalent in all of these stories, especially in the movie. The humans have become slaves to another race. The humans, however, manage to cope with the problem in all the stories and overcome these problems.

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  28. Even now the human is proving his intellectual superiority over the apes. This movie still tells humans that they are better than other beings in the galaxy

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  29. I believe that xenophobia is definitely illuminated by the hunt of the humans in the movie. It's amazing to think that for once, humans are being hunted instead of the humans doing the hunting. It's like we finally get to understand what it's like to be in the position of the animal. However, I'm not sure if the ability of the animals working like we do is entirely xenophobic because it's similar to what we do. Plus, since the apes are so close to us, it's plausible to say that it's more possible for them to act like us.
    One thing that is kind of frightening is that the apes were trying to make sure that the humans don't make any development because we like the freedom and it'd be scary to think that power would be taken away from us.

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  30. The movie flips the script on the humans. We are portrayed in the same way we see animals. All of our feelings of superiority are taken from the humans in this film. Humans are treated like filthy creatures and looked upon as silly(the way we would see a monkey).

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  31. All of the components of the battle/roundup scene hold well with xenophobia. Theo only difference here is a three tier structure, with the apes on top, then earthpeople, then these other humans. The apes are clearly trying to exterminate humanity, and while humans are still evolved, the are treated by the apes as animals. The only way the humans will earn respect is to surpass apes in some capacity. The thunderdome type playpen for the humans is very much like the zoo's we keep apes in. It is crucial that we take from this what we can and try to better respect animals, even if this equal intelligence stuff doesn't apply. Also, those like the good doctor must be hoped for in order to sponsor good relations wiht other intelligent species.

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  32. It seems like humans and apes have switched their roles. The apes can talk and do human qualities, and humans are like apes, they can't talk and they apparently have less understanding than the apes do. And this is just like the fear in the rest of the stories we have read. The human race is becoming less superior and another race, in this instance apes, are exceeding the human race.

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  33. I find it like many of the books that we read already are very like this movie, because the humans are in fact the animals. But the thing I find weird is that many of the apes are afraid of the humans and the humans are not as afraid of the apes. The humans that were afraid of the apes were the apes that had the guns and were going to hurt them. If you don't have a weapon You would be afraid too. But overall I believe that this film is a good representation of xenophobia.

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  34. In planet of the apes, the human kind is now seen to be ignorant and incapable of talking or rational thought. This seems to be a propogated kind of xenophobia that is no doubt part of the movie.

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  35. In the movie planet of the Apes there seems to be a xenophobia between the apes and humans. The apes fear what the humans are capable of doing they are convinced that they are animals that don't know anything.

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  36. The way the Apes came in on horses and chased out the humans suggests that the humans didn't understand the apes, and that's why they were afraid and ran away. It also suggests that the apes misunderstood the humans and considered them to be inferior to themselves. They were like animals to the apes, and they feared (as we fear wild animals) that the humans could overtake them if they weren't kept in cages and under supervision. This shows another side of xenophobia--when people don't understand other things or people, they may take rash actions. For instance, the apes took the humans for brain study and made them live in cages because they didn't understand the humans. On the other hand, perhaps they THOUGHT they understood them. The old ape in the lab was convinced that humans had no understanding of language or words or rational actions. This is ironic because we think similar things about other animals today, though we tend to give them the benefit of the doubt when it comes to communication between species.

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  37. I love how the apes are smarter than the humans ans how the roles are completely reversed

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  38. i think that it is important to notice that when the apes became the enlightened dominant species of earth they did as humans did. they thought they were the most powerful beings alive.

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  39. I agree with matt that it is cool the see the roles completely reversed from the apes to the humans. It is the apes who are experiencing the xenophobia. I enjoy seeing that other races besides humans have xenophobia too.

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  40. The Planet of the Apes relates to xenophobia and is also similar to the other texts we have read. The apes are afraid of the humans because in their society seeing humans isn't normal, like how the Hussirs were xenophobic towards wild humans. The humans are xenophobic towards the apes because it is weird that apes have a system of government and infrastructures and dress in clothes and speak, they are much like humans, and it is a foreign concept to these people. This movie displays xenophobia and also a refusal to accept people or things that are different or in certain aspects "weird", because the apes call the humans "creatures" and "freaks" and I'm sure the humans feel the same way about the apes, but they can't really say anything because they apes have the upper hand. If this situation was switched than the humans would show the apes the same treatment.

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  41. The imagery associated with a human running through a village that despises his very image. The funeral really makes us wonder about the benefits of religion but also how that can sometimes become exclusive and divisive in a community. Also, the images of Taylor running nimbly where apes can only try to compete may be used to make the movie more acceptable to the audiences that were seeing it at its release. Will the apes be able to deal with a human as smart as them or, true to xenophobic tendencies, will they be unable to bear a truth other than that they have already attributed to nature.

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  42. I struggle wit this being Xenophobia because neither the human or the apes are afraid of each other. With Xenophobia being fear of the unknown, I don't believe that is the case in this movie. The only thing I think is Xenophobia in this movie is the apes because they are the only ones that actually fear the human. Other then that they think are all powerful and in this movie they are. Overall i believe that this movie does display some Xenophobia but not as much as many of the stories that we have read.

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  43. this movie shows a whole different point of view instead of humans being the dominant species the apes are the dominant

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  44. The movie brings into question many of the aspects that our world has turned in to. The main character brings up the fact that "there is a lot of love making but no love on my planet" this questioning of our culture and societal morals. This also happens in Muse where they question the use and drugs.

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  45. The apes are afraid of what they don't know. So when the human (Taylor) starts showing the developments that they are unfamiliar with, they try to change Taylor so that he can be changed to be like the other humans. Most of the apes aren't taking the chance to learn about the human because they are afraid of the possibilities that could happen. However, can things handle change if we allow them to change?

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  46. The movie has interesting points how humans are viewed from others and how now the apes are the powerful and alive species.

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  47. In planet of the apes, the doctor doesn't believe anything he doesn't want to believe, which is why he crumples up the paper airplane. When the captain speaks for the first time, it triggers the apes' xenophobia of humans to an extreme and makes them think all of their irrational fears are justified.

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  48. The fact that Taylor couldn't talk made it nearly impossible for him to escape the evil intentions of the apes without resorting to violence. This made everything worse when the apes went after him and tried to pay him back with more violence. They didn't understand that he simply needed to be free so he could teach the apes that humans didn't want to destroy them. They were afraid because he couldn't speak, and they tormented him out of fear. He understood why they had xenophobia for humans, but he couldn't make them understand. The trial of law in the ape realm is very similar to that of humans today, so it seems that this movie suggests that it is pure nature for xenophobia to occur. Humans fear other creatures coming to power and controlling them, so they create government. In this movie, the apes do the same thing, this time favoring ape society and culture. This can simply happen in any biological species, group or culture.

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  49. it's odd how all of the ideas of earth are on the ape planet (god created in the image of smartest being, evolution). Does this mean that all civilization has the same fate or that no matter what animal had been dominant they would have assumed they were the only intelligent animal and the only ones with a soul and rights?

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  50. This movie exhibits xenophobia because we don't know why or how the apes became more intelligent than the humans. Or why humans have stopped talking and become less intelligent. And what the apes plan to do with the human race. And we also don't know any of the cultures of the apes. But the apes are less technologically advanced than the humans were. But the apes might have planed to take over the humans for some time now. Because the apes cut out Len's brain. So i think that they are becoming above the humans on purpose.

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  51. The movie reflects the realities of life, and the fear of "other" unknown people we have. Instead of trying to gain an understanding of others, the most powerful culture (in this case, the apes) does their best to control and conquer them. They convince themselves that their race is the best, and all others are merely insignificant.

    "Is it a joke to seek the truth about this man?"

    The helplessness and injustice the main character experiences in the movie are experiences of real people. Racism, slavery, and genocide are the evidence of our xenophobia.

    -Michael Sakas

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  52. Even though the apes have seen that the man can speak, they still treat him like animals even though he can do the things the apes can do. It shows that the apes think that they are the smartest things alive when in this case they are not the only smart creatures alive.

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  53. The apes in the movie fear humans because they are portrayed as wild creatures. When they learn he can talk they are scared and frightened. The apes call him a freak.I think that is something that we would do if we saw an ape talk. When they realize he can talk he is taken to court. So he can be exposed for being a hoax.

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  54. I think this is interesting that the apes think that they are acting as humans and the humans are acting as apes. My question is how did all these humans end up on this world? I wonder if the director wanted us to think of ourselves as crazy just like he makes the ape seem.

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  55. It is fascinating that the Taylor is going from completely cynical, to completely insane. I also find it to be interesting that they have a certain debate of evolution.

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  56. A form of xenophobia is when the astronaut is going to be be put to death he doesn't know and he fears because he doesn't know what is going to happen to him.

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  57. What are the filmmakers attempting to say about society through this role reversal? What morals come from these stories about xenophobia?

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  58. apes are the ones how has the xenophobia not the humans. they dont want to here what the humans have to say the dont care and they want to denie all talking humans

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  59. This story pertains to science fiction and what we have read because its shows xenophilia. The apes fear the humans and especally Taylor

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  60. This film truly addresses the importance of perspective. As far as humans are concerned, they are the dominant species and therefore see all other creatures as inferior. The captain seemed "less intelligent" when he shaved because the apes are accustomed to hairy faces. Also the apes think all humans like alike, like we do with other animals. When a species is superior, then they lose faith in the abilities of other creatures.

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  61. The Planet of the Apes questions the differences between religion and science and how often times they do not go together. This movie questions darwinism and what many believe to be the evolution of people.

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  62. The movie planet of the apes wrestles with xenophobia, because that apes are the one that are afraid,not the humans. It makes us wonder how big the universe can really big.

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  63. The apes are afraid to trust the humans, especially by giving them harmful weapons that could destroy things. This shows the reluctance that the apes have to trust a race that they believe is inferior, even if the other race can prove their worth.

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  64. I thought that it was interesting how Taylor compromised with the orangutan to allow Cornelius and the doctor to search in the cave. This is interesting because the entire movie, he has seemed either afraid to find something new, or like he wants to hide something. Plus, when he gave them a chance, he is kind of going back on his word because he is trying to make Cornelius back up everything with the scrolls. However, the ability to try and prove the scrolls wrong should not have to follow the scrolls details. These excuses illuminate the fear that the society continues to hold resulting in the xenophobia of the past and the future.

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  65. I think this movie, the stories we've read and the concept of xenophobia is that things we don't understand we always view as dangerous or threatening. However, through time and understanding are we actually able to decide whether or not something really is.

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  66. The imagery associated with Taylor on on side of the canyon with Cornelius on the other side seems to suggest that they are two individuals inherently separated by their cultures. How has Taylor managed to win the standoff in so easy a manner. The apes believe there is no difference between religion and difference, which is perhaps more a difference in societies more than scientific truths. The child treats Taylor with caution as an adult, which seems to suggest that perhaps age, rather than based on species or race is more important to children.

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  67. Taylor the human that can talk is trying to escape. They find a cave where there are objects that trace back to ancient cultures more advanced than that of the apes.

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  68. As the movie is coming to an end it becomes much more xenophobia by how actually the Apes are afraid of the human because they are starting to figure out that the human is much smarter and is actually able to think and act on his own. Once they figured that out they wanted to kill the human and find a way to make sure they can return to there way of life.

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  69. In the movie it shows that all that Taylor new was gone, and his world was turned upside down. Ever since he landed on the planet. Also at the end of the movie it reveals a lot of questions about, Are they on earth? Did man do this out of greed or did the apes do it?

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  70. It drives me insane how just one idea can be considered heracy. I also hate the contradiction Dr. Zaius Defender of the faith and science. But i see why they made him the way he is. he is to defend his own race from what man could become once again.

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  71. The apes fear of the forbidden zone is so great that they hesitate to follow Taylor, all because their "law giver" pronounced the place deadly, probably because of the neuclear fallout in the past.

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  72. Xenophobia is common where we would normally see certain things as normal. For instance, a human that looked different to the apes was scary and foreign. It is ironic that the apes think humans look all alike because we have so many characteristics that help us differentiate ourselves from one another.

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  73. It was interesting how the apes believe all humans look the same, when people say most apes look the same. The apes also talk down to the humans, and they treat them like animals.
    While they are escaping, it kind of reminds me of The Silk And The Song when the boy was escaping with the zird, except they didn't get caught and nobody even took off after them.
    Are these ancient scrolls related some what to the Bible?
    They say tying an ape up is humiliating, but they could treat the human like that because he was inferior.. But why did the humans die off? And how are these certain humans still alive?
    Apes think humans are ugly, and most people think apes are ugly.
    This movie is like a role reversal in a way because the apes treat humans how we treat them in some way, they locked the humans in cages, like in zoos and treat humans the same way. And instead of apes evolving to humans, humans evolved to apes.
    The government is kind of corrupt because the doctor wants to keep knowledge of the humans to a minimum and keep things the same as they were and seal the cave so something like this is preventable in the future. He is promoting the apes to not accept humans and therefore making his people ignorant and xenophobic.
    So evolution occurred and then reversed?

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  74. This is mostly fear of the evolution of the apes into men and the men into more ape-like creatures. And also we don't know how it came to be, how the men became the inferior race. And it might be possible in the future for that to happen because on that planet time moves much faster than on planet Earth. And the movie ends with sort of a cliff hanger note. It makes us think what about our future? Could something like that happen?

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  75. ~The minister of science and religion is the only one wearing orange, not green. The orange is closer to human skin color, the show of which is what they said made Taylor look less intelligent. It also resembles the red worn by the Spanish Inquisition.
    ~Planet of the apes offers a scathing social commentary; the reversal of roles allows it, and the twist ending solidifies it.
    ~xenophobia could be fear of what you know, but have chosen to deny.
    ~brings to mind mark twain's On The Damned Human Race.

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  76. In a way of xenophobia is that the Apes are afraid of what the humans are and what happened to them to make their world turn into the forbidden zone. Also a form of xenophobia is the Statue of Liberty and how it became all rusted and destroyed

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  77. This movie, the stories we have read and the concept of xenophobia show we still have fear of strange things and we are afraid of the unknown. We may be able to understand but it will take time.

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